Supporters Liaison Report

With the end of the first series of games upon us I have been busy getting comments and feedback from the supporters of Dundalk FC regarding the various issues at the club. The feedback has been mainly good but some interesting issues have been highlighted and as supporters liaison officer I brought them to the board to discuss them in more detail. If you have any queries or aspects of the club you would like to be highlighted in the future you can contact me on any match night here in Oriel Park or at ciaran.callan@dfctrust.com. With your help we can further improve the match night experience here at the home of football, enjoy the game!

Ciaran Callan
Supporters Liasion Officer
Dundalk FC Trust

Lighting in the main stand
A suggestion has been made in regards to the lighting of the main stand stand during match nights. It is believed that having the lights on in the stand hampers the atmosphere and it would be better for them to be switched off. While it appreciated that the lights are on for the growing media contingent in Oriel Park on a match night however it would be ideal for small lights to be placed at the desks for the journalists and switch off the large lights in the main stand. While this is generally agreed to be a good thing health and safety issues must also come into consideration.

The board’s response was as follows: The lights in the shed are also on as a safety precaution for health and safety. We are planning a Health & Safety review at Oriel Park with H&S specialists and we will bring this up on the agenda.

Sweet Shop
While vast improvements have been made to the interior infrastructure of Oriel Park during the close season it was brought to my attention that one important section hasn’t. The sweet shop beside the main entrance to the stand had been used as a make shift storage space and has become impossible to work in for the volunteers in the shop. The issue was raised to the board to highlight an opportunity to overhaul the shop also with the brand new expansive memorabilia shop just being opened.

The board’s response was as follows: The sweet shop was a disgrace and it happened during a time were considerable work and infrastructural changes were taking place at the club. It is not something we were proud off and we have cleaned this up now and this issue should be resolved.

The Schooligan Issue
As seen over the course of the past few months is the growing problem of the youth hooligan or media typecast ‘schooligan’ element that exists in Oriel Park. While they cannot be faulted for their vocal and visual support their anti social behaviour particularly at away matches this is a growing cause for concern. While away support is a vital for the team the club cannot be seen to be associated with the anti social problems these youths are causing.

The board’s response was as follows: The board and the club and very concerned about the rise in bad behaviour and bad publicity from so called fans of Dundalk FC, particularly at away matches. We have board representation working closely with the event co-ordinators (home and away) and stewards to identify trouble makers and we are taking advice from the Garda on how we deal with these issues. This is also a national problem with various national newspapers carrying stories about the rise in hooligan behaviour from Eircom LOI club fans. We have also contacted the FAI and their League of Ireland Division to record our concern and look for direction on how this issue can be treated on a League and National basis.

League Cup Game
As per previous seasons the Eircom League Cup games the entrance fee has been covered by a season ticket. This year it was not the case and fans were not notified and were annoyed by this outcome. It was brought to our attention season ticket holders didn’t receive adequate notice ahead of the match

The board’s response was as follows This was an unfortunate situation regarding tickets and the League Cup. We have since drafted a letter and sent it to every season ticket holder, apologising for this mistake and explaining the reasons behind the decision to asking them to pay for League Cup matches

Public Address System
Since the renovation of Oriel Park and in particular the ‘Shed’ side of the ground the Public Announcement system has not been installed on that side of the ground as of yet. From a health and safety point of view as well as general information regarding goal times/goal scorers etc it has been requested that proposals for it to be installed to be put in place.

The board’s response was as follows: This will be brought up at the Health and Safety review.

FAI Club Licence
Despite all the efforts to improve the financial and ground infrastructure at Dundalk FC the club only achieve a First Division FAI licence. One of the main aspects to us only getting a First Division licence was the Fieldturf/Pridesports pitch installed in Oriel Park. Has there been any update in relation to this issue?

The board’s response was as follows: We expect to here back from the FAI, Fieldturf and pridesports by the end of next week on this matter